Yes... another which card should I get - From 3x4850 to?

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Rhoxed

Golden Member
Jun 23, 2007
1,051
3
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I currently have a thuban at 4.2ghz and 3x 4850's (the 512mb versions)

With newer games I notice slowdowns at 1920x1080 with max settings (usually AA) which I am pretty sure is related to memory limitations.

What would be the best card to purchase, that will give me the same or better performance of 3x 4850's but without the RAM limitations in high res and settings.

If 3x 4850's get 200 FPS @ 720P and get 60FPS @ 1080P - I wouldnt mind a card that got 150FPS @ 720P but closer to that 100FPS @ 1080P (this is possible with the memory limits am i right?)

pretty much, what should i get? I have been eyeing the 6950 - will that be an upgrade? or a sidegrade except for the higher resolutions?
 
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happy medium

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
Grab a 6950, that should give you what you want..
Edit: Do you have 1gb 4850's or 512mb?

If you have the 4850 1gb version, it will be a sidegrade and probrobly not worth it.
 
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B

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
12,248
3
0
I'd do it even if it offered no performance increase, multicard setups are cool for epeen but a pain for practical use, it'll at least save on a lot of needless extra heat and noise. I know I'm really tempted to try and trade my dual 470s for a single 580 but am not sure if I can bring myself to accept the downgraded raw performance.

At any rate the extra memory would most certainly help with higher resolution scenarios. Not only does the 512MB 4850 lack memory buffer it lacks memory bandwidth.
 
R

Rhoxed

Golden Member
Jun 23, 2007
1,051
3
81
Thanks for the quick responses guys. Its my b-day so I get a new piece of hardware to play with :)

The 6950 2gb seems to be the direction I am heading. Any particular models I should keep an eye out for?

(might grab a SSD too if anyone has a suggestion on those also)
 
Castiel

Castiel

Golden Member
Dec 31, 2010
1,772
1
0
4850's in Tri should be faster then a 6950 but your X6 is holding back any multi card setup.

4850's in Xfire = 5850
 
S

-Slacker-

Golden Member
Feb 24, 2010
1,563
0
76
bryanW1995

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
mnewsham said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102921

my $0.02
Click to expand...

that's a 1gb. 2gb cards are typically between $230-$250 AR these days. if OP is staying at 1920x1080 forever then the 1gb should be fine, but if he goes xfire/trifire/etc and/or multi monitor or higher res during the life of the card then the 2 gb would probably become more important.

Brand isn't really that important with amd. XFX is better b/c they have the double lifetime warranty, but they typically cost so much more that I'd recommend another brand most of the time. Cheapest stock-clocked unit is probably the way to go, with perhaps a $10-$15 premium on the xfx cards.

SSD prices are seriously tanking these days, I'd recommend getting the largest ssd storage space you can get for the price that you select, though make sure that whatever ssd you buy has trim. another option on SSD's is to get the silverston HDDBOOST and a very small/cheap SSD.
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
bryanW1995 said:
that's a 1gb. 2gb cards are typically between $230-$250 AR these days. if OP is staying at 1920x1080 forever then the 1gb should be fine, but if he goes xfire/trifire/etc and/or multi monitor or higher res during the life of the card then the 2 gb would probably become more important.

Brand isn't really that important with amd. XFX is better b/c they have the double lifetime warranty, but they typically cost so much more that I'd recommend another brand most of the time. Cheapest stock-clocked unit is probably the way to go, with perhaps a $10-$15 premium on the xfx cards.

SSD prices are seriously tanking these days, I'd recommend getting the largest ssd storage space you can get for the price that you select, though make sure that whatever ssd you buy has trim. another option on SSD's is to get the silverston HDDBOOST and a very small/cheap SSD.
Click to expand...

The difference at 2560x1600 (except in one or two extreme cases) is less then 2fps http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/331?vs=293
 
bryanW1995

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
yes, but he has a documented track record of going multi-gpu, and his current 3 gpu setup is failing him due to lack of ram. wouldn't it be a bit short-sighted of him to encourage that same situation in the future by settling for 1gb now?
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
bryanW1995 said:
yes, but he has a documented track record of going multi-gpu, and his current 3 gpu setup is failing him due to lack of ram. wouldn't it be a bit short-sighted of him to encourage that same situation in the future by settling for 1gb now?
Click to expand...

Idk i never really encourage multi GPU setup's in the first place :p

im not saying the 2GB is "bad" or anything but it isnt at the moment needed even at higher resolutions.
 
R

Rhoxed

Golden Member
Jun 23, 2007
1,051
3
81
Thanks again for the suggestions. Yes I have had multiple crossfire set-ups and have always been pleased with them. As some others have said 3x4850 is about as fast as a 6950, but the ram limits me to resolution under 1080P if i want full eye candy, which I hope the 6950 will fix.

I going to pick up a 2GB 6950 - seems to be the best path, and I most likely will x-fire down the road if BD performs like we hope (otherwise it might be back to intel for me - first time since 1.8ghz p4) - eyefinity might be an option also.

as for SSD's im 100% out of the loop. I don't know where to start. Looking to spend about 200-250$ on an SSD if anyone knows the best in that price range.
 
Skurge

Skurge

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2009
5,195
1
71
mnewsham said:
Idk i never really encourage multi GPU setup's in the first place :p

im not saying the 2GB is "bad" or anything but it isnt at the moment needed even at higher resolutions.
Click to expand...

For the amount a 2gb version costs even if he wont add another card, its better getting a 2gb card. Just like when the 4870 came out. The 512mb version was only a little faster, but as more games came out, the memory requirements increased by quite a bit and today a 1gb 4870 is good for most if not all games, but the 512 version struggles quite a bit.

So you never know how game requirements will change, better to have too much memory than have "just enough" for today.
 
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RavenSEAL

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2010
8,661
3
0
Rhoxed said:
Thanks again for the suggestions. Yes I have had multiple crossfire set-ups and have always been pleased with them. As some others have said 3x4850 is about as fast as a 6950, but the ram limits me to resolution under 1080P if i want full eye candy, which I hope the 6950 will fix.

I going to pick up a 2GB 6950 - seems to be the best path, and I most likely will x-fire down the road if BD performs like we hope (otherwise it might be back to intel for me - first time since 1.8ghz p4) - eyefinity might be an option also.

as for SSD's im 100% out of the loop. I don't know where to start. Looking to spend about 200-250$ on an SSD if anyone knows the best in that price range.
Click to expand...

SSD-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...8348:thumbsup:
 
R

RavenSEAL

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2010
8,661
3
0
mnewsham said:
I picked up this the other day on sale for my laptop.
Click to expand...

Well, the OP said he was willing to dump about 200-250, so i went and found the best on that price range. I'm sure he can get SSDs just as fast, just with less memory for half the price.
 
mnewsham

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
RavenSEAL said:
Well, the OP said he was willing to dump about 200-250, so i went and found the best on that price range. I'm sure he can get SSDs just as fast, just with less memory for half the price.
Click to expand...

If you have the room and your motherboard works with it (not all do there are some bugs) then the RevoDrive is a good choice.
 
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